Audits target Montgomery County district courts

NORRISTOWN — Montgomery County Controller Stewart Greenleaf Jr. announced Wednesday he and his staff will begin annual audits of Montgomery County’s 30 magisterial district courts, beginning this week.

The courts operate on an annual budget of about $3 million per year, yet no audits have been performed on them since 1996 — 16 years ago.

Although the district courts are typically audited by the Pennsylvania Auditor General, that office is several years behind in its audits of state departments. Given the current economic status in the county, Greenleaf said important audits like these are needed at the county level, since tens of millions of dollars have been spent for years with no oversight.

“I’m sure that we’ll be able to find ways that we can better protect some of the monies that the district courts are holding,” said Greenleaf.

“Just from the controller’s office experience dealing with other county departments, we’re a repository for information about what things and what weaknesses people with untoward motives may be able to take advantage of.”

Greenleaf explained that audits not only protect taxpayer dollars, but also encourage best practices among the district courts.

The controller credited Second Deputy for Audit Bernadette Vereb with spearheading the effort and bringing the county’s statutorily required financial audits up to date. He said the controller’s office is not required to conduct these audits, but they should be done anyway.

Asked what he expected to learn from the findings, Greenleaf did not specify any particular area of monies poorly spent, but that everyone should be thinking about improving efficiency.

“In general, we just can’t have millions of dollars of county funds floating out there and not looked at,” he said.

Greenleaf said he hopes to complete the audits by the end of the year.